Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 01.djvu/352

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ALCAIDE.
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ALCANTARA.

ALCAIDE, al-kad'; Sp. prnn. al-ki'oa (Sp. from Ar. al, the + qaid, governor), or ALCAYDE. A Moorish title, applied by Spanish and Portuguese writers to a military officer liaving charge of a fortress, prison, or town. It has also been used to designate a jailer. It is to be distinguished from alcalde, which indicates a civil olUcer.


ALCALA DE GUADAIBA, iil'ka-la' da gwa- Di'ra (Ar. al, the + KaVat, Kul'uh, castle + Sp. dc, of). The ancient Carthaginian Hienippa (place of many springs). A town of Andalusia, Spain, in the province of Seville, seven miles east by south of Ciuadaira, partly on a hill, and overlooked by the ruins of an ancient Moorish castle, once one of the most important, as its ruins are still among the finest, in Spain (Map: Spain, C 4). The town is beautifully situated, and on account of the salubrity of the climate is much resorted to as a summer residence by the inhabitants of Seville. It is celebrated for producing the finest bread in Spain; there are numerous bakeries in the town and Se- ville is cliiefly supplied from it. Seville is also supplied with water from the hill above Alcala, which is perforated by tunnels, forming under- groundcanals. Some of the tunnels are believed to be Roman works, but most of them are known to have been made by the Moors. Pop., 11100, 8287.


ALCALA DE HENARES, a-nii'res. An old town in Spain, in the Province of Madrid, sit- uated on the Henares, 22 miles from the city of Madrid (Map: Spain, D 2). It formerly had a university, which was founded by Cardinal Xim- enes in 1510, and once enjoyed a world-wide fame, second to that of Salamanca alone. In 183U the university, together with its library, was re- moved to JIadrid. In this library was depos- ited the original of the celebrated polyglot Bible, which was printed in this town, and called the Complutensian, from the ancient name of the place (Complutum) . Alcala de Henares has, be- sides, a cavalry school, a collegiate church, and a prison for eight hundred female convicts, the only institution of its kind in Spain. Its indus- tries include .a linen thread factory, soap works, weaving mills of various kinds, and a great leather factory. It is the birthplace of Cervan- tes. Pop., moo, 12,0.56. Consult: Calleja, "Bos- quejo Historico de los Colegios Seculares de la I'niversidad de Alcalft de Henares," in Volume CXVI. h'diKia CoHtcmponniea (Madrid, 1899).


ALCALA LA REAL, lii ra-itl' (Ar. al, the + Kal'at, Kul'ali, castle, fortress, and Sp. la, the real, royal). A city of Andalusia, Spain, in the province of .Jaen, 26 miles northwest of Granada (Map: Spain, D 4). It is situated on a conical hill, in a narrow valley, on the north side of the mountains which separate the province of Jaen from that of Granada, at an elevation of nearly 3000 feet above the sea. It is a very picturesque town, iri'cgiilaily built, with steep and narrow streets and bold towers. It has a hospital, for- merly an abbey, a very fine building. The neigh- borhood produces grain and fruits of the finest quality, and the inhabitants of the town are mostly engaged in agriculture. There is some trade in wine and wool. Pop., 1900, 15,948. The town obtained its name from the fact that it was originally the Moorish castle and stronghold of Ibn Zaide. In 1340 the place was captured by Alfonso XI.


ALCALDE, al-kiil'da (Sp., from Ar. al. the + tjudi, judge). The general title of judicial and magisterial office. Still used in Spain and in countries in America settled by the Spaniards. The mayor of the pueblo or town is called the alcalde, and is invested with judicial as well as executive powers.


ALCAM'ENES (Gk. 'A?./>n//f I'w, Alkamenes) . A famous Athenian sculptor, said to have been a pupil of Pliidias. His latest work is dated in 403 B.C., but bis most famoxis works seem to have been executed from 440 to 430 B.C. His greatest achievement Avas the "Aphrodite in the Gar- den" at Athens, of which tle "Venus Genetrix" statues are probably copies. If Pausanias is right in attributing to Alcamenes the sculptiu'es in the west jjediment of the temple of Zeus, at Olympia, and a statue of Hera in a temple de- stroyed by the Persians, we nuist assume that there was also an elder sculptor of the same name.


ALCAMO, al'ka-mo. A city in Sicily, 835 feet above the sea, 5 miles south of the Gulf of Cas- tellamare, and 52 miles by rail, plus 5 miles by highway, southwest of Palermo (Map: Italy, H 9). It has an Oriental appearance in spite of the fact that in 1233, after an insurrection, Freder- ick II. substituted a Christian for the Saracenic population. The campanile of the cathedral con- tains a "Crucifixion" by Gagini; the church of San Francesco, statues of the Renaissance per- iod; and the church Dei Minori, a "Madonna" by Rozzolone. Above the town to the south towers Mount Bonifato to the height of 2700 feet, from which is a magnificent prospect of the gulf to the north. The country is agriculturally rich. Pop. 1881, 37,697; 1901, 51,809. Consult "Documenti sulle chiese di Alcamo" in Arrhivo Stolico .S'iVi7mH0, Vol. XXV. (Palermo. 1900).


ALCANDRE, al'kaN'dr'. In JIademoiselle de Scudery's Clelie, Histoirc lioiiiainc, a charac- ter representing the young Louis XIV.


ALCANTARA, al-kan'ta-ra (Ar. al, the + kuntaiali. bridge). The Xorba Citsarea of the Romans. An ohl fortified Spanish town, built by the Moors in the province of Estremadura (Map: Spain B 3). It is noted for the bridge, which was built by Trajan early in the second century. This is 670 feet long and 210 feet high, with six arches, and was constructed of stone without cement. In 1808 the English partially destroyed the bridge, and it suffered again in the civil war of 1836. From that time until 1882, when it was Repaired, the inhabitants used a ferry. Pop., 1900, 3097.


ALCANTARA, Order of. A religious and military order of knighthood, established about 1150 for the defense of Estremadura against the Moors. In 1197, Pope Celestine III. confirmed the privileges of the order, imposing the oaths of obedience, poverty, chastity, and eternal war against the Moors. The order was at first known as the Knights of St. .Julian, but in 1217 Alfonso IX. gave them the town of Alcantara, which he had taken from the JSIoors. They settled in this town, and were known as the Order of Alcflntara. In time the grand mastership of the Order was united to the Spanish crown by Pope Alexander VI.. in 1495, when the former Grand Master was made Archbishop of Toledo and a cardinal. In 1546 the knights were allowed to marry, but were obliged to take an oath to defend the Immacu-